100 Beautiful and Ugly Words
by ironstatic
Summary: Dulcet: sweet (Sugar, spice, and everything nice, all the better to mislead you with, my dear.)
1. Crystalline

CRYSTALLINE  
>clear, or sparkling<p>

"Oh my god! You actually sparkle!" Jinx cackles, seeing her support for the first time.

She's new around the League. After her crime spree in Piltover, Zaun basically drafted her as a champion. There was some kind of political incentive for it, like a "get your shit together" ultimatum. Jinx was fuzzy on the details, not that she really cared. All she knew was that one day, a gang of robed nerds whisked her out of her apartment and stuck her in a room. Apparently, she lived there now and there was something about probation? Whatever, at least this time around, needles aren't involved and she got to kill people on a regular basis. The teamwork thing though, that was really cramping her style, especially the whole support bit. She hated, hated, hated depending on someone else. Talk about a real buzz kill.

"Yeah... Light is kind of my thing." The sparkly girl says, bouncing on her feet. "I'm Luxanna Crownguard, but you can call me Lux. I'll do my best to assist you."

Jinx nods slowly, eyeing her so-called support. She knew the League was basically a collection of freaks. But this girl was a piece of work. Her face was free of any zits or dirt. Her blonde hair looked brushed and properly conditioned. Her armor shined under the turret's glare, like she actually took the time to polish it. Basically, everything about this girl screamed neatness and order and a healthy hygiene. Jinx couldn't wait to mess with her.


	2. Beguile

BEGUILE  
><em>deceive<em>

"I don't know who you think you are."

Lux stiffens, turning on her heel. It's the dead of night. The halls of the Institute are dimly lit and empty. Or rather, Lux thought it was empty. She is decidedly wrong. A fatal mistake, one she knew better to make. She wraps careful fingers around her baton.

"Show yourself."

The tip tap of footsteps echo slow and steady against the stone walls. Jinx walks into the torch light, a sneer on her lips.

"You're not fooling me. And I don't think you're fooling yourself either."

"The Institute explicitly prevents any combat outside the Fields of Justice."

Jinx rolls her eyes and leans against the wall. "See, this isn't it?"

Lux blinks. "What?"

"You think you're some kinda paragon of virtue, quoting rules and saving kittens. And let me just say, you're not."

"What are you talking about?"

"So polished and perfect, not a hair of place. God! I'm suffocating just looking at you."

"Jinx, is there a point to all this?"

"Aaaw, come on. Lighten up! Ha! Get it? 'Cause you're a flashlight?"

"State your business or I am leaving."

"Don't you ever get tired of following rules? You're so stiff! I just wanna see you loosen up. You know, get a little crazy."

Lux snorts, crossing her arms. "So I can be more like you?"

Jinx laughs, softly at first. Then she doubles over, cackling her lungs out. Lux takes a wary step back, her magic shimmering right under her skin. Jinx breathes in deep, wiping an imaginary tear from her eye, before straightening up. She stares Lux dead in the eye.

"Oh, Flashlight. You're already like me. I don't know who you think you're fooling."


	3. Caprice

CAPRICE  
><em>impulse<em>

"Excuse me?"

Lux can't believe Jinx is a real person. As in an entity she currently shares the same plane of existence with. Renekton, sure. Twitch, alright. But Jinx? It was illogical. It was ridiculous. It just plain didn't make sense. But here is irrevocable proof, staring her straight in the eye, and smiling. It's two in the morning.

"It's two in the morning."

"I know. I couldn't sleep. So I thought I'd drop by. See what you were up to."

Lux sits on her bed, in her bed clothes, and stares at Jinx.

"It's two in the morning."

"Yeah. I wanted to catch you before work hours. I mean, before you got all busy and stuff."

"It's two in the morning."

"You keep saying that. Are you okay?"

The Crownguard Estate possessed an exceedingly complex, state-of-the-art security system. It was designed by the famed Heimerdinger himself and second only to the protections of the Royal Palace. Jinx managed to climb up to her room, open her window, and ask her out on a date, without tripping an alarm. Lux is justifiably concerned, and grudgingly impressed. She is also freaking out because what. What?!

"What?!"

"Are you okay?"

"No before that. When you asked me out. What?"

"What what? I asked you out."

"You came all this way from - wherever you were from - !"

"The Institute. I came from the Institute."

" - to ask me out?"

"I couldn't sleep."

Lux feels her face contort into increasingly distressed expressions. Her mind desperately attempts to process the strange creature before her, but to no avail.

"So, what? You just had nothing better to do?"

"Pretty much."

"Couldn't you, I don't know, go on a wild crime spree or something?"

Jinx gasps. "A Demacian? Suggesting mayhem and mass murder? Miss Luxanna, I am appalled." She wiggles her eyebrows. "Go on."

"That's not - I didn't mean - Ugh, forget it." Lux buries her face in a nearby pillow.

"I mean... I was tempted. I came here, saw the tall, gleaming buildings, with the neat spires, and the straight - straight lines... Everything here is so angular, you know, all symmetrical. I was itching to blow stuff up. But then, I figured, starting a crime spree here wasn't gonna win me brownie points with you."

Lux stills and slowly raises her head. She looks Jinx in the eye.

"So, you're telling me, the only reason you didn't, in fact, blow my city up is because you wanted to ask me out."

"Yeah, sounds about right."

"Are you holding my city hostage?"

"What? No! Where'd you get that idea?" Jinx tilts her head. "Is this the first time you've been asked out?"

"What - I don't - Why does it matter?"

"Because, I mean, this is pretty standard procedure. You know, the whole I do something nice for you - !"

"By not blowing up my city?"

" - you go out with me..."

"What if I say no?"

"Then, I guess, bombs away."

"So you are holding my city hostage!"

"I was joking."

Jinx cackles, rocking backwards. Lux studies her for a second. A smudge of oil paints her nose. Bags hang from her eyes. Her long, blue hair slips out of its usually tight braids. She looks like milk left under the sun to spoil sharp and sour. On the other hand, even rudely awakened, Lux is pristine. Her hands are folded on her lap. Her back is poised at a ninety degree angle. She is the picture of Demacian pride.

Lux swallows. "Why me?"

"Why not you?"

"Couldn't you find some other person to toy with? Someone more like you."

"You are like me."

"I'm not."

Jinx smiles, a slow, mad crawl of her mouth. Pink lips pulled tight against white, white teeth. A sliver of moonlight falls then, pure and bright, highlighting her sickly, sallow skin. She looks haunted and holy and Lux feels something - not quite fear - coil in her gut.

"Aren't you bored, Lux?"

Jinx, loud-as-rocket-fire Jinx, speaks softly now.

"Aren't you tired? You're always a hundred steps ahead of everyone else. No one can keep up with you. Isn't it dull? Waiting for them to catch up. When all you wanna do is go running right ahead."

Lux swallows. She can feel her heart pounding in her ears. A sticky staccato beat, like gunfire, she thinks.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You don't have to be bored, Lux. Go on a date with me. It will be... Illuminating."

"I'm not killing people."

"Sure. Fine by me."

"Or committing any crime."

"Oh, come on!"

"I mean it, Jinx."

Jinx stills. A half second passes. Then she smirks, leaning in. Lux should move away, move back. But Demacians have never been good at yielding.

"I like the way you say my name."

Lux feels heat flush her cheeks, sweat beading her temples. Jinx is so, so close now.

"Say it again."

It's a mistake. She knows it's a mistake.

"Jinx..."

"Yeeeeeeees?"

"I - it's two in the morning."

Jinx blinks before pulling back. Her loud, raccous laughter rasps against the still silence. Lux takes a long and deep breath. Her hands ease out of the fists she doesn't remember forming.

"That's not a no, Flashlight." Jinx says, grinning.

And it really isn't, Lux thinks, dizzy and disoriented from what she couldn't rightly name. But it has something to do with the curve of Jinx's neck, the hollow of her throat, and the dimples of her collarbobe. She swallows. Really, it's not a no.


	4. Crepuscular

CREPUSCULAR  
><em>dim, or twilit<em>

As the famed Lady of Luminosity, most people would think Lux prefers the brightest hours, like sunrise or a full moon midnight. Most people would be wrong. Lux prefers that odd in between moment, before the stars can shine and after the sun sets. She loves that time when the streetlamps aren't lit but there's no more daylight. It's the hour evening first breathes as the shadows lengthen, spilling across doorsteps to greet those coming home. Lux relishes that moment. The world feels smaller then, emptier too, as if she alone existed. There is no one and therefore, nothing to harm her. It's safe to come out.

She takes walks then. She takes advantage of the shops closing, the avenues clearing, all the people tucked in their houses. She walks and she thinks about nothing and everything. Is there a God? What happens after death? Why does Garen hide in bushes? And here, in these moments, she has herself - her thoughts, her time, her attention - all to herself. She doesn't owe anybody anything. Not a thing.

It is then jarring and painful and flat out rude to be disturbed on her walks. But Jinx never did care for manners or basic human empathy. So there she is, waving, as Lux turns the corner.

"Oh, good Liberty, you are stalking me."

They're in a park. It's one of Lux's favorite walking routes (though she is re-evaluating her preference). Specifically, they're at the playground area of the park. It was long past the hour children went home. There's no one around save for the two of them. Jinx is standing on a swing, idly swaying. Lux looks on from her place by the sandbox.

"No! What makes you think that?" Jinx cackles, throwing all her weight forward. The swing creaks in protest as she sways faster, back and forth and back and forth.

"There is really no other reason for you to be here."

"I could be checking out your playgrounds. I hear Demacia has the best seesaws. Something about scales and justice."

"Will you just go away already?"

"Why? I'm having fun here. Hey, you think I can swing all the way around? Go the full 180?"

"I can call the authorities. I can bind you in place - keep you here till they arrest you."

"Yeah, you could. But you won't."

"How can you be sure?"

Jinx stops her swinging and looks at Lux. "Because you haven't yet."

"It doesn't mean I won't."

"Doesn't mean you will."

Lux grits her teeth. "Why can't you just leave me alone?"

"We still need to go on our date."

"I never agreed to that."

"You never said no either." Jinx plops down, properly sitting on the swing. "Now get over here and push me."

Lux shouldn't. She really shouldn't indulge the psychopath. She should just walk away, call the police, and head back to her house. Except, she really couldn't, in good conscience, subject others to Jinx. She simply didn't trust non-champions to subdue her effectively. Moreover, any proper attempt at arrest could lead to her violently resisting, which meant rockets, which meant death and destruction on an epic scale. At the very least, if Lux is around, Jinx would be too preoccupied with her and won't go wreaking havoc. Hopefully.

Stepping over the sandbox, Lux heads over to the swing set. "For the record, this is not, in fact, proof of my attraction to you."

"Whatever you say, Flashlight."

It's later now. The stars are out. The streets are lit. Evening has well and truly settled. They are still alone in the playground. For a moment, neither speak. Only the creaking swing fills the silence. A cold breeze brushes past, whispering through the trees, the bushes, the grass. Lux shivers, wondering how Jinx isn't freezing.

As if sensing her thoughts, Jinx speaks up. "Hey, Flashlight."

"What?"

"You should swing with me."

"Why?"

Jinx looks over her shoulder. "Do you really need a reason? Can't you do it just 'cause?"

"I don't want to swing."

"That's a lie. Swinging is the best. And when was the last time you sat on a swing?"

"I don't remember."

"Exactly! So come on already!"

Preferring not to humor Jinx a minute longer, Lux bites her lip. She thumbs through her thoughts, grasping for an excuse. Clearing her throat, she says the first thing that comes to mind.

"Swinging is for children."

Jinx digs her heels in, stopping her momentum. She twists in her seat, staring at Lux in disbelief.

"Oh, really? That's all? Well, I'm swinging, aren't I?"

"Case in point." Lux smirks.

"Excuse you, I am a grown woman."

"Could have fooled me."

Jinx glares at her, nonplussed. "So what? Are you, like, scared or something? Scared someone's gonna walk by and laugh at you?"

Lux blinks. "...No."

"There's no one around, Flashlight. Only me and I promise not to tell."

Lux makes a noise of protest. Jinx pats the swing next to her. Out of excuses, Lux sighs and takes the seat. Jinx laughs with pure, unfiltered glee.

"Next time, come up with a better lie."

Lux smiles wryly. "Was I that obvious?"

"You weren't trying."

Lux raises an eyebrow. "And you would know?"

"Of course!" Jinx beams.

"How - !"

"Hey! Wanna see who can jump the farest?"

Lux looks at Jinx in askance. "What?"

"You know! You swing really high. Then you jump!" Jinx explains, demonstrating with her hands. "Pchooo!"

"I'll take a raincheck."

"Right. Can't ruin your hairdo, or whatever. I get it."

Scowling, Lux glares at Jinx. What the hell, she's gone this far. "Fine. Let's do this."

Jinx whoops. "Okay! On you marks! Get set! Go!"

Lux rolls her eyes and half heartedly starts swinging. Beside her, Jinx practically takes off.

"Oh, come on, Flashlight! You can do better than that!"

Hands curling into fists, Lux pumps her legs faster. The cool evening air whips her face as she picks up speed, swinging higher and higher. The playground dissolves into half lit blurs. The ground peels away. It has been too long. She almost forgot what it was like, and how much she loved it, the way her stomach sinks to her spine, her hair flying in the wind. It's how the earth looks so far and the sky looks so near. It's that one breathless moment she can't tell flying from falling.

It's as if she's five again. She's five and Garen's ten. His hands, big and warm, push her gently. There's laughter. It's hers and her brother's. They're together, like always, like they have forever. She's five and she doesn't know the Measured Tread or the back alleys of Noxus or the smell of urine and fear. She's five, and the sun is shining, and all she wants is up. Past the clouds, the moon, the stars, she wants nothing else, just up.

"On the count of three!"

Lux blinks. She's not five. There's no Garen. But Jinx is here.

"One!" Jinx who laughs like she's breathing her last.

"Two!" Jinx with her slashed open grin.

"Three!" Jinx shouts, swinging up and and up and up.

Lux lets go. And for one endless second, she hangs in the air. Her eyes gaze at the sky above and she swears she could touch it. But all too soon, gravity tugs her down and she's rolling, tumbling to the ground, crashing into Jinx.

She'll have bruises tomorrow. She'll come home a mess. Mother will look so disappointed. But that's later. Now, she's laughing like she can't stop, like this moment won't end. Here, in the empty playground, no one sees her eyes well up. No one sees tears fall down her cheeks. No one sees how she laughed so hard for so long she started crying. No one except Jinx. Infuriating, unreasonable, dangerous Jinx. She wraps an around Lux's shoulders, offering what little comfort she can give. And she lets her cry, just cry. She doesn't say a word.

Lux rests her head on Jinx's shoulder and knows. She knows then and there that she's going to say yes. When Jinx asks her out, she's going to say yes. Because she wants this, more moments when she can't tell flying from falling, the gaps where she gives up all control. She wants up, just up. If only for a little while, she thinks, just a little while longer.


	5. Desultory

DESULTORY  
><em>half-hearted, meandering<em>

Something's wrong with Jinx. At least, more wrong than usual. She just went 0/11/2 in her last match. It wasn't as if her Summoner was unskilled, quite the opposite actually. Although, they were complaining of an odd lag, a problem in the connection between Summoner and Champion. According to them, it was as if Jinx simply lacked the desire to fight. She followed commands slowly and moved sluggishly, not even trying to dodge skill shots. It was quite out of character for someone whose passive is, "Get Excited!"

Lux is concerned. After the match ended, she heads over to Jinx's room. The Zaunite wing stood as far as physically possible from the Piltovians, and subsequently, all of Piltover's allies. This also meant the wing was next door neighbors with Noxus. Needless to say, a paragon of Demacian virtue, such as Lux, has never approached the general area. She wouldn't know which room belonged to Jinx. But luck is on her side. Zac finds her loitering about the wing's entrance and quickly directs her to Jinx's quarters.

"But..." He says, a frown wrinkling his lips. "I don't know if now is a good time."

"It's that bad?"

"See, I can't... really... tell. I haven't heard a peep from her since she got back. Usually you'd hear music or a sautering iron or laughing, lots of laughing. But not today."

"Thanks, Zac. For the heads up."

Zac huffs in amusement, crossing his arms. "And you're still going to see her, aren't you?"

"Am I that obvious?"

Zac only shakes his head. He waves good bye and continues on his way. Lux waves back, watching him turn the corner and disappear. She takes a deep breath. Walking to Jinx's room, she drafts a speech in her head. Hey, Jinx. Heard you were having an off day. I came to check on you. Are you okay? No, that isn't any good. She's obviously not okay. Asking would be pedantic and redundant. Lux should just say hi, ask her if she needs anything, and try to cheer her up. Yeah, that sounds like a better plan.

Nodding to herself, Lux stops in front of Jinx's door. She squares her shoulders and knocks, a light tap-tap against the wood.

"Go... Away." She hears Jinx mutter from within.

"It's me, Lux. I... Are you okay?" Lux winces, mentally slapping herself.

"Leave... Me... Alone."

She scowls and knocks harder. "Let me in, Jinx."

"Oh my god! Are you stupid? I told you to beat it!"

This is getting her nowhere. Kneeling down, Lux pulls a pin out of her hair. The Institute may have the most complex and sophisticated protection spells but they still locked doors with old fashioned keys. As it so happens, Lux is skilled at picking locks. With nimble fingers, the knob turns and she lets herself in.

"How'd you do that?"

Jinx lies on her bead, swaddled in sheets from head to toe. Only her face is visible. Her half-lidded eyes don't register any surprise, just weariness and exhaustion.

"Spell thief." Lux says simply. "Emphasis on the thief."

Jinx groans, pulling the blankets completely over her. "Why won't you leave me alone?"

"Sucks doesn't it? The shoe's on the other foot now."

"Really, Crownguard? Never knew you did vindictive."

"You bring out the worst in me."

Approaching the bed slowly, Lux takes a seat on the desk chair. She looks about the room, taking it all in. The mess was no surprise. Dirty laundry sat in clumps on the floor. A myriad of gears, springs, and wires littered every flat surface. Boxes of take-out were stacked in corners, left to rot. Although, how Jinx got take-out delivered to the Institute is a mystery.

What did surprise Lux were the papers scattered everywhere, tucked under the mattress, shoved between boots, or laid out next to guns. Each and every sheet had a design, increasingly complex and advanced. These were blue prints for revolutionary weapons that could change the face of war. But Lux is more impressed by the equations, the lines and lines of calculations all handwritten.

"So, what did you want, Flashlight?"

"Did you do all of this?" Lux breathes, eyeing the figures etched on the wall.

Jinx peeks out from under her covers, following Lux's line of sight. She snorts. "Oh, that? Yeah. Why?"

"These are impressive. Wow."

Jinx raises a skeptical brow and turns to Lux. "Really? You think so? It's just stuff off the top of my head."

"No, I can tell." Lux looks back at Jinx, admiration evident in her voice. "This 'stuff' is groundbreaking. Horrific but highly advanced."

Jinx blinks. The red of her cheeks made more evident by her pale skin. She ducks back under the sheets.

"Look, if you got no business here, then just go away."

Lux raises her chin. "Not until you tell me what's wrong."

"Why do you care? You don't even like me."

"You're acting strange and I'm concerned. Just because... we're not friends, doesn't mean I can't worry."

"You're not my fucking mother. It's none of your business. Go. Away."

"Just tell me what's wrong!"

Jinx bursts out from under her blankets. She sits up straight and stares Lux right in the eye.

"Nothing's wrong! Okay?! There's no problem! There's no crisis! Everything is peachy keen!"

Chest heaving, Jinx coils her hands into fists. Uncut nails dig into her palms as she clutches the sheets, wide-eyed and white-knuckled.

"Nothing's wrong... It's just me... It's just me, okay?"

She then bows her head, trying to will her tears away. For a very long, very drawn out moment, neither speak. Jinx can feel Lux's gaze still studying her, dissecting her to molecules and atoms. She's so sharp. Lux is so sharp and so smart and so pretty. And Jinx aches all over to have her.

Faintly, she hears the chair scraping back, and footsteps, the doorhinges creaking, then silence. Jinx huffs. Wrapping her arms around herself, she tumbles back into bed. She re-spins her cocoon of blankets, eyes fixed at nothing in particular. Bitch, she thinks. Didn't even close the damn door.

Jinx doesn't know how long she laid there, prone and unmoving. Five minutes? Ten minutes? Lux would know. Lux knows everything. Jinx wishes she stayed. But she's not surprised Lux left. Everyone else did.

Footsteps snap Jinx out of her daze. It is the slow, shuffling gait of a summoner. She buries her face in a pillow and prays for them to leave, to keep going, to walk past her room. The footsteps stop, right outside her door, of course. She toys with the idea of shooting them in the face. But that never worked before. Maybe she should shoot herself.

Another set of footsteps come running in. It has the distinct metallic clink of armor. A champion, Jinx figures, except no one from Zaun wore armor. Then she hears Lux's voice.

"Hey! What are you doing?"

"I am here to escort Jinx, the Loose Cannon, onto the Rift. She has been selected."

"Well, you can just bug right off."

"I beg your pardon."

"Jinx isn't feeling well today. She won't be participating in any more matches."

"I'm sorry, but that simply isn't done. A champion comes when they are called. This is the rule."

"Rules can be broken. Just tell them... there's a connection problem. Jinx will be unavailable unil further notice."

"But you can't just - !"

"Did I stutter, Summoner?"

"No, but - !"

"So, leave. Go on. Shoo."

There's a pause. Jinx holds her breath. The seconds tick by before she hears it The slow, shuffling footsteps walk away. The doorhinges creak again. She sits up, the covers slipping off as she watches Lux step into the room.

"Flashlight." Jinx croaks, swallowing. "You're back."

Lux smiles sheepishly. "Sorry about that... I just... Here."

She holds out a tub of green tea ice cream. Jinx stares at it for a second, brows furrowed.

"For... me?"

"Yeah. I thought - It helps me when I feel sad. So, I figured, you know."

Jinx takes note of the flush crawling up Lux's neck, to her cheeks, to the tips of her ears. She snorts. That's so fucking adorable.

"Thanks."

Lux starts, as if surprised by her gratitude. But she quickly regains composure, squaring her shoulders and taking a deep breath.

"Look. I get it. Sometimes, you just feel sad. And there's nothing you can do about it. And that's fine! You can feel sad. I'm not going to - I won't try to cheer you up. But I'm not - I'm not going to leave you either."

Jinx blinks, baffled. "Why not?"

Lux pauses, wetting her lips. "I know what it feels like to be alone when you're sad."

She then walks over, clearing a space on the desk and setting the ice cream down. She moves to take a seat herself, smoothing down her skirt, folding her hands in her lap. She sits, with knees together and back straight, a picture of order in the middle of a mess. In contrast, Jinx is on her bed, with unbraided hair she hasn't brushed and oil stains she hasn't washed. There's grit stuck under her nails and dried blood on her fingers. And Lux sees that, sees all of that.

But still, she says, "I hope you don't mind if I stay."

Jinx swallows. She can't breathe. Her lungs swell, too small and too big at the same time. It presses against every bone of her ribs, testing its absolute limits. But still, it is not enough air.

She's in trouble. She's in so much goddamn trouble.


	6. Cashmere

CASHMERE  
><em>fine, delicate wool<em>

She stole it. Again. Lux sighs, staring forlornly at the open closet. Her favorite sweater, a gift from the Frejlordian ambassador, is missing from the rack. It was made from the finest wool the burgeoning state could offer. Or so the ambassador said. Whatever the case may be, it was soft and warm and perfectly snug. Lux treasures it dearly.

But Jinx loves it more, apparently. This is the third time she's stolen it. Lux shakes her head and shuts the closet doors.

The sweater remained out of her possession until she returned to the Institute of War. There had been a minor kerfuffle over the tentative truce between the Winter's Claw and the Avarosan. Demacia, of course, eagerly lent their aid to Queen Ashe, and Lux was requested to participate in the upcoming match. She wished for the comfort of her sweater now more than ever. The chosen arena was the Howling Abyss with its bone chilling winds and below freezing temperatures - not to mention all the ice spells going to be used.

Lux is then pleasantly surprised when, entering her Institute-assigned quarters, she finds Jinx fast asleep on the bed and wearing her sweater. She pauses at the threshold, steady gaze fixed on her unannounced guest. Jinx lies on her side, body folded nearly in half with her head pillowed on her hands. Save for the slight movement of her chest, she is completely still. Her face, neither smiling or frowning or grimacing, appears at peace. Lux swallows, barely daring to breathe. It feels as if she has stumbled unto something intimate, something precious, something she can't even begin to deserve. She takes a step back, hoping to leave the scene undisturbed.

But Jinx, as always, does what she wants. She rises to consciousness with a muffled groan. Gummy eyes blearily blink open. Her gaze is quick to find and settle on Lux, still stuck at the doorway.

"You're here!"

It's two words, two syllables. It's a measly gasp of a sound. It hits harder than any rocket as Lux watches life seep into every inch of Jinx's face, from the corners of her lips to the curve of her brows. When all was fragile and fuzzy before, now her joy brings everything about her into sharper focus. Jinx just lights up and the sincerity of her happiness is both daunting and piercing. And Lux can only smile helplessly.

"I'm here. The question is, why are you?"

Jinx wrinkles her nose in response and proceeds to shuck off the stolen sweater. She presents it proudly to Lux.

"I kept it warm for you, you know, for your match."

Lux blinks. She stares blankly at the sweater for a long moment, before bursting into giggles. Reaching over, she plucks the sweater from Jinx's hands The wool is, as promised, very warm.

"Thank you." She says, and means it.


	7. Cascade

CASCADE  
><em>steep waterfall<em>

The problem with Jinx, one of them at least, is that she never actually stops. She does everything with a single minded fervor and tenacity that both frightens and awes. She is consumed by her passions. Her thoughts, her ideas rapidly fire through her synapses, riddling her consciousness and never leaving her alone.

"Ever." She told Lux once.

It is the early hours of the morning when no one sane is awake. They are in Jinx's apartment, in the mess that is a living room buried under dirty clothes, candy wrappers, wrenches, screwdrivers, and pages and pages of increasingly complex designs. Jinx is frantically scribbling on her walls, having run out of paper ages ago. Lux studies the string of figures slowly making its way to the floor. She takes a step closer, resting her finger on a particular number.

"You're overestimating. If you changed the exponent to 4, instead of 6, you'd get more accurate results."

Jinx pauses in her frenzy and looks up. The dead-like stillness she acquires is in stark and disturbing contrast to her earlier unceasing motions. She stares at Lux as if she can't quite figure out where Lux belonged on the equation, an unaccounted for variable that she missed. Then she breaks out a grin that redefines wild.

"Oh my god! You're right! Thanks, Flashlight. You just saved me a whole night's worth of work."

"So you're going to sleep soon?"

"What? No. Now, I can move on to other things. Like modifying the blast radius of my rockets."

Lux sighs, bemused in spite of herself. "I'll go make coffee then."

"You're staying up with me?"

"And leave you alone? You'd eat yourself alive."

Jinx smiles then, a soft, shy curl of her lips where her eyes crease in the corners. The sheer wonder and gratitude of her expression shouldn't affect Lux so much, except for the absolute novelty of seeing Jinx look something other than sharply hazardous. Lux swallows loudly.

"Besides, I saw at least 2 errors in your last computation."

"No! Where!"

As Jinx whips around, Lux ducks into the kitchen. She thinks of numbers, the stream of figures. She thinks of streams, coursing, winding over cliffs. She thinks of edges, of tumbling, of falling. Maybe because she is, slowly and quietly falling.


	8. Diaphanous

DIAPHANOUS

_gauzy_

"So, what are we doing again?"

They are walking down Main Street, the shopping center of Demacia. Ritzy, designer stores lined the block, surrounded by crowds of customers all clad in shimmering apparel. Everything looked polished and refined, from the sharp point of a lady's heel to the color-coordinated shrubs on the sidewalk. Jinx itched for a gun.

Lux, of course, confiscated all of her weapons prior to leaving the house. There was a very, ahem, thorough body search involved. It was such dirty pool. Jinx loved and hated her for it. It didn't help that Lux blended in with her recently conditioned hair and manicured fingernails. Comparatively, Jinx was trailer trash.

"We're shopping." Lux replies, eyes darting from display to display.

"What's wrong with my clothes?"

Now Jinx happens to like being trailer trash. There was just something about dressing well that screamed of order and confinement. She rolled out of bed and threw on the first thing she saw. There was a memorable moment when she ran onto the Rift wearing her blanket like a toga. She would have gone naked but… sharp projectiles and tender regions.

"More like what isn't wrong with your clothes?"

Jinx rolls her eyes. Then she blinks, seeing something out the corner of her eye. An unholy smile graces her lips and she quickly darts away.

"Hey, Flashlight. What about these clothes, huh?"

Lux turns to find Jinx standing amidst a store display, a lingerie store display. In her hands, she holds up some sort of night dress. The hem would barely brush her thighs. It was made of a fine, silky, see-through fabric meant to accentuate a lady's assets.

"Wonk!" Jinx chirps, winking at her. "What do you say, huh?"

Lux snorts, shaking her head.

"There's no use. You've got nothing to show off anyways."

And with a flip of her hair, she walks away. Jinx's expression, mouth hanging open with eyes bulging out, she savors in apologetic glee.

"You take that back!" Jinx shrieks, dropping the dress and wrapping her arms around her chest. She looks down at her small - but still there! - breasts. "She didn't mean it, babies. Don't listen to mean old, Flashlight. You totally exist. I'd show you off in a heartbeat."

Lux freezes at that, a sinking sensation in her gut. She turns sharply on her heel. "Jinx! Don't you dare!"

Too late.


	9. Cinammon

CINAMMON  
><em>an aromatic spice; its soft brown color<em>

"You... bake?"

"I find it therapeutic." Jinx sniffs, adopting an injured pose. "And I find it very insulting that you doubt my culinary skills."

Lux snorts, crossing her arms. "You just don't look the type."

"And you don't look like a sleeper agent." Jinx grins, wrinkling her nose and baring her teeth. "But we both know where you've been. What you've done."

Lux starts, then huffs, looking away. "Low blow." Walking over to the counter crowded with a myriad of ingredients, Lux toys with a jar of cinammon. "You know, if this is so therapeutic, why not do this instead of, like, killing people. You could get a job with Morg."

"Just because I find it soothing doesn't mean I wanna do it all the time. Baking gets me calm. Shooting people gets me happy." Jinx throws a glance over her shoulder that can only be described as 'Duh'.

Lux breathes in, slow and deep. "Right. Of course. Why'd I bother asking."

Jinx snorts. "Dunno. For a genius, you're not very smart."

"I resent that."

Reaching over, Jinx plucks the jar out of Lux's hands. "Sugar cookies fine by you?"

"Do I really get a say in this?" Lux asks, watching her madly whisk the batter.

Jinx laughs. "Now you're getting it!"


	10. Amorphous

AMORPHOUS  
><em>indefinite, shapeless<em>

Light has structure. Light has shape. Light has atoms, moving in perfectly predictable equations. Lux has long mastered the science to light, figured out all its answers and solved for every variable. She can calculate the speed at which light reflects from Jinx's smile. But she soon learns that predicting Jinx is a whole other problem. A frequently changing algorithm where the constant is her inconsistency, and even then, she surprises her. Jinx is the antithesis to everything Lux has worked for. She isn't measurable. She has no discipline. She is all that isn't order and peace. She is a riddle wrapped in an enigma. And Lux surprises herself by not wanting the answer.


	11. Coalesce

COALESCE  
>unite, or fuse<p>

Another explosive, Lux guesses, maybe a rocket, possibly a gun, a weapon of mass destruction, definitely. All the better to kill people with, she thinks wryly.

It's long past the witching hour. Surely even Vayne has gone to bed. And yet, here Lux sits, perched on the dilipidated couch, watching the hunched form of Jinx scribble away. She's at her desk at least, with a proper pad of paper and a pen. It's not like last time - thank god - when Lux woke to find Jinx writing on the walls with her bleeding thumb. I ran out of ink, she said. There was no paper, she said.

Lux grimaces at the memory. Ever since then, she kept Jinx well supplied with the required materials. In hindsight, it was probably not the best of ideas. She was enabling an infamous mass murderer to invent bigger, badder weapons. But, that's not a first either, she thinks bitterly, remembering her days as a spell thief. And it's not as if she really thought depriving Jinx of stationary could stop her. It's Jinx. Lux would have better luck stopping the sun from rising.

There was no denying Jinx's intellect. Her creative prowess was only matched by Lulu and her engineering skill tied with Vi's. She was capable of producing a new blueprint every week, every day if she was particularly inspired. Yet it was all for the service of her personal entertainment - death and destruction for shits and giggles. A true pity, Lux muses, tracing the curve of Jinx's shoulders. Such brilliance could have better use and she can't help but wonder.

"Why do you make weapons?"

"Uh, for fun, duh."

"Yes, but can't you... make something else? Invent something less... destructive?"

Jinx starts. The soft scratching of her pen stops. She turns in her seat, facing Lux.

"Are you asking me why I don't use my powers for good?"

"...I suppose so."

There's a moment of complete, absolute stillness. Then a mad grin cracks open Jinx's face as she laughs, loud and breathless. She goes so far as to slap her knee.

"Oh, Flashlight, are you trying to turn me good? Wave your little baton and magick the monster into a maiden?"

"Well, why not?" Lux snaps, hackles rising. "You can do so much good, you know. You're so smart and you're so inventive. Look at all this!" She waves her hand at the equations etched on the walls, the designs plastered on posters. "You could help people! You could save them from harm and not, you know, cause it?"

Jinx lets Lux finish her tirade with a look of bemusement, as if she was only humoring the crazy lady. She straddles the seat and rests her chin on her palm, allowing silence to settle before speaking.

"Do you have a hero complex? Is that it?"

"What?"

"Thanks for the compliments though. Nice to know my genius does not go unnoticed. But here's the deal, Flashlight." Jinx rocks forward then, almost to the point of tipping over. "I don't wanna be good."

"I don't understand."

"I noticed. But it's simple really. I don't care that I kill people. En masse. On a regular basis. It's fun. I'm having fun. That's all that matters to me. I like who I am, Flashlight. I am finally the person I can live with myself to be. And I will fight you aaaaaaaaall the way down before you take that from me. Do you get it now?" Jinx grins, something small and tight and broken about the edges. "I'm not the kind of person you save. I'm the kind of person you stop."

"Is that who you want me to be then?" Lux whispers, looking right at Jinx. "Do you want me to stop you?"

There's a pause, a moment like a held breath. They stare at each other, Jinx in her chair - about to fall over, and Lux on the couch - bright eyes wide open. Lux sees Jinx, sees the hollow of her throat, the thinness of her wrists, the scars about her arms like the aftermath of needles.

Then, all too soon, Jinx breaks out giggling. She giggles high strung and hysterical. Straightening her seat, she turns around and pointedly breaks eye contact.

"Oh, Flashlight. You're so smart. So very, very smart. It's what I like about you."


	12. Chrysalis

CHRYSALIS  
><em>protective covering<em>

Contrary to popular belief, when Jinx gets angry, she doesn't go on a wild killing spree. She doesn't unload her entire arsenal unto poor, unsuspecting cities. She doesn't wreak havoc, cause mass mayhem, and generally impose her presence on the unwilling. She does that when she's bored. No, when Jinx gets angry, truly and sincerely angry, she grins. She cracks a joke. She invents nicknames, petty and childish taunts to hurl at sneering faces. And she laughs. And laughs. And laughs. A high, tinny sound like knives scraping glass. It's a coping mechanism, if Lux ever saw one. The thing is, Jinx is always like that - always grinning and joking and laughing. She never stops.

And Lux gets it. She understands on the most basic and fundamental level. She has known that need to keep the world away. To keep those prying eyes from all that is soft and tender within you. To stop them from carving out the clawing, crying, screaming bits of you - the leftover pieces still dying to live. Lux knows what it means to laugh and pretend everything is fine, just fine. There's nothing to see here. Move along now, please.

Because here's the thing, Lux is always laughing too.


	13. Dulcet

DULCET  
><em>sweet<em>

She speaks as if powdered sugar sprinkled every syllable. Ls drop off her tongue like drops of golden honey. Ss slink through her teeth, slow and thick as molasses. Berry balmed lips shape each O with careful precision. Her every sound is saccharine and smart, calculated exactly to butter you up. She keeps your gaze on that pretty little mouth so you never see how her eyes flash, how they narrow, how they sharpen to bladed slits. She will laugh the way bubblegum pops, loud and distracting. So you'll never know the way her brain extracts each detail, decoding the data to deduce where you live and what you do, before you can say hello.

But Jinx sees. Jinx knows. She watches Lux make split-second calculations between dodging fire, sometimes literally. Jinx gets it. Once a thief, always a thief.


End file.
